[ There's no judgment on Sam's end, just a faint hint of relief that the shit going on in his head and making it worse is gonna fade over time. It sucks, but he could deal with it on his own, he thinks, if it weren't for the way all of their faded connections make him feel nearly as empty as he had back in his bad days. ]

Nah, man, it actually sounds pretty healthy. You let yourself feel it for a little bit, acknowledge the loss, and then you keep going. It's better than pretending like it don't mean anything at all, like everything's fine and keep pushing on until you break - and it's better than letting yourself wallow, forgetting that the world goes on and there's still things you gotta fight for.

[ Sam's done a little too much of both, in his time. And honestly, he's not sure if what Steve's doing right now is really finding that balance or if it's leaning a little too much into the former one - Lord knows the Steve that Sam knew back home was so damn prone to it - but it sounds good, and it's the reminder that Sam needed.

He pulls in a shaky breath, shooting Steve a tiny, sad smile. ]

You stuck in the 'feel like hell' part right now, too?